Make This (Valentine’s Day DIY): Colorful Button Down Shirt Bouquets + Bouts

This guest post was written by photographer + makeup artist Jeanne & and designer Lenna of Enna Anne.

But before I let these lovely ladies break down this diy…I just wanted to mention that this one is near and dear to me for a couple of reasons. Of course the project is amazing, but more importantly than that, it features 2 adorable people from my family (Amanda + Tim). PLUS it was shot by Jeanne Ciasullo, who was the photographer at Jeff and I’s wedding. AND I almost forgot, another friend of ours makes his way into a few of these photos too. Kind of special, huh?

Anyway, I’ll let Jeanne and Lenna get right down to it…

Supplies: 1. Vintage button down collared shirts and vintage scarfs 2. Design Master Spray Paint (Found ours at Michaels) Colors Holiday Red and Raspberry 3. Rubber Bands & Miniature Clear elastic hair bands 4. Straight pens (which can also be spray painted) 5. Assorted Flowers (We love picking up fresh flowers from our local supermarkets but we always go picking from our local area too. Yards, parks & roadsides are some of our favorite spots. You’d be surprised what you can find in super market parking lots! Picking a little bit of the nature around us makes the bouquets look effortless, not perfect. We love that. Just make sure you are not picking on private property!) *We highly recommend using gloves when spray painting. Its a step we often forget because we’re so excited to start the process.

Here’s how you make it: 1. Let your flowers soak for one or two nights in water and flower food so that the flowers are happy and hydrated and the blooms open up.

2. Select a variety of flowers and lightly mist the buds with the spray paint. Slowly build on the color so you do not accidentally over saturate your flowers. A little of the natural flower color showing through is ok, in fact we prefer it!

3. Alternate paint colors to get a variety of results. Experiment with the colors. The paint colors on different colored flowers yield unique results. Have fun! Place wet flowers back in water and let dry.

4. Shirt collar boutonniere & Bouquet. We loved the idea of using a man’s button down shirt as a wrap for both the boutonniere and bouquet because it seemed like a great way to make it more masculine (even though it was pink and red heaven). To do the same, cut the collar off of the button down shirt. Save that for the groom’s boutonnieres. For the bridal bouquet cut the button down shirt down the middle leaving the buttons in the center of the fabric. Cut the remaining fabric into strips. We wanted her bouquet to look like a shirt when it was wrapped.

5. Making the boutonniere. Bundle a group of painted flowers together. We like to use interestingly shaped greenery and small wildflowers. Once arranged secure with a small clear elastic rubber band.

6. Utilizing the shirt collar from step 4, wrap the shirt tightly around the boutonniere and secure with short floral pins.

7. Making the Bouquet. Bundle a group of painted flowers together. We like mixing big blooms with wild flowers and berries. Keep adding flowers until you get your desired bouquet size. Secure with rubber bands

8. Now that the bouquet is arranged we like to step back and see if the color works. If it doesn’t we lightly mist the areas in the bouquet (with gloves!) that need some extra attention/love.

9. Use the shirt fabric from step 4 and place the front buttons of the shirt down the center of the bouquet. It’s easier with an extra set of hands. As one person holds the flowers the other person can tightly wrap the bouquet. Trim the excess fabric and secure with floral pins. Use the fabric strips and wrap the bouquet like a ballet slipper and tie off at the top in a knot and trim.

Using spray paint on flowers was a great way for us to achieve the saturated look that we wanted. We couldn’t find exactly what we were looking for, we wanted over the top color so the flowers would pop in person and in photos. Spray paint was our solution! Whenever we approach a project we always try to think about how we can make it special or unique. We believe that the small unexpected touches make all the difference.

Thanks so much for sharing this tutorial ladies! You are an inspiring duo. 

For more photos from this V-Day inspired wedding shoot (there are so many more to take a look at), visit this photo set on Enna Anne now. And if you don’t have a wedding in your future, you can easily translate this project into a tabletop centerpiece for any room of your house.

About the Jeanne and Lenna. ENNA|ANNE is a budding design, photography & makeup company that caters to the west coast of Florida and more. Business partners and childhood friends, Lenna and Jeanne formed the company after years of honing their talents in their respective fields, Lenna in graphic design and Jeanne in photography and makeup. These two ladies combine forces to create amazing projects through collaboration and their strong vision, bringing a fresh perspective for their clients to benefit from.